Just curious. The wife went shopping yesterday and I asked her if she noticed or not if the lines were getting shorter, waiting times shorter and just basically fewer people. She said the lines are moving faster, most people aren't buying as much as before and it is getting faster at the checkout because of this. Might be worth watching as this could be another of the Virus Policy side effects, people not working that had a business or steady employment running short of cash and savings? On a side note, on the news last night had a report of 2 Filipinos dead and another in ICU, because they tried to mix paint thinner with soft drinks to make alcohol. Now aside from this being really a bad idea, why did they even try it? Liquor Ban? Another Virus Policy side effect? I'll be willing to bet, more will be in the making.
so the local victims of the presumed liquor ban already outnumber local confirmed covid-19 casualties. yay :/
Or perhaps also the shopping was done already - i.e. 'panic' buying (or 'being prepared', however people wish to describe it).
It would be interesting to know the eventual overall death toll due to Covid-19 when account is taken of: Deaths from the virus, increased deaths from people unable to have medicines or hospital treatment for other illnesses, reduced deaths on the roads, increased deaths during home DIY, increased deaths from people foolishly making home alcohol, increased murders due to domestic disputes and crime on the streets, reduced deaths from drownings and other accidents when people are outside their homes, reduced deaths from pollution (or maybe just short-term relief), possibly (but hopefully not) increased deaths due to malnourishment or starvation. There may be many other factors I have not included but I think the overall impact, unless Covid-19 gets far worse, is that we might end up with less deaths. Economically, however, the overall effect will be nothing but a disaster for already weak economies.
Any increase in deaths will almost certainly be offset by births 9 months from now. Hopefully Boomer V2.0 doesn't f*ck the world as badly as V1.0 did.
Just did a grocery run today. I went to Robinson’s first, but their chicken looked gross and nasty, so left that out and just got some other stuff. Checkout was a breeze. Not a lot of people there. I decided to go to hypermart to check out their chicken. Parking was already bad and the line outside was a distinct turn off. Don’t know why everybody was flocking to hypermart when Robinson’s was a ghost town. I assumed all the people lined up were all there for hopefully, better chicken. A forty minute wait to get inside is just ridiculous.
That is a possibility, but from the reports she was giving me on lines and buying, it never slowed, but now is. Panic stocks only last so long. That plus the contents of the shopping carts are going down. It was only a musing, but something I think needs watching. Also, now the Finance Secretary is talking about a large fund to help the middle class too, the ones who used to work but have the policy of no work no pay.
Both Lee Plaza and Robinsons downtown had pretty long lines this afternoon. The wife went to Lee, messaged a pic to me from the back of the line (below), but it only took her 10-minutes or less to get inside.
